21st Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act

At the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990, President George Bush stated, "Three weeks ago we celebrated our nation's Independence Day. Today we're here to rejoice in and celebrate another 'independence day,' one that is long overdue. With today's signing of the landmark Americans for Disabilities Act, every man, woman, and child with a disability can now pass through once-closed doors into a bright new era of equality, independence, and freedom."


 

ADA History


The ADA was the world's first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities. It was a collaborative effort of Democrats, Republicans, the legislative and the executive branches, federal and state agencies, and people with and without disabilities.

The disability rights movement has increased in momentum over the course of the past twenty years. In contrast to earlier conceptions of disability, it presupposes the human potential of people with disabilities, maintains that people with disabilities are competent and have the right to govern their lives, and holds that the proper goals of public policy is the creation of meaningful equal opportunity. Core to the movement is the elimination of  attitudinal, communication, transportation, policy and physical barriers which will result in a substantial enhancement in the integration of people with disabilities into our society.

Influenced by the goals, rhetoric and tactics of the civil rights movement, the modern disability rights movement has been marked by the increasing prominence of people with disabilities themselves as its leaders and spokespersons and the emergence of the first national cross-disability organization in the 1970's. It rejects paternalistic treatment that impedes the realization of the full potential of people with disabilities.


Congress, since 1968, has passed a series of laws focused on the goal of integration through the provision of meaningful equal opportunity. Some of these statutes provided access to a limited class of public facilities and public transportation. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, in addition to providing for the establishment of comprehensive programs of vocational rehabilitation and independent living, also created a federal board to coordinate and monitor access to public buildings and transportation, prohibited discrimination in employment by the federal government's Executive Branch, and required affirmative action in the hiring of people with disabilities by federal agencies and contractors. It also included the key national mandate prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities by recipients of federal financial assistance. This last provision, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, later served as a model for many of the ADA's provisions. The Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1974 mandated an end to separate and unequal educational opportunities by requiring that all children with disabilities be entitled to a free appropriate public education. Legislation was passed that contained a bill of rights for people with developmental disabilities aimed at promoting the integration of such individuals into the community. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was amended in 1988 to add protection for people with disabilities in this critical area.

In the employment arena a number of companies, partly in response to federal mandates, have found that hiring people with disabilities has helped improve the company's performance. Their spokespersons have indicated that they do so not hire persons with disabilities for altruistic reasons but in order to strengthen their workforce and the health of their enterprises. Business leaders have spoken out in favor of "full participation" for citizens with disabilities, arguing that business has an economic stake in hiring individuals with disabilities and, in so doing, taking advantage of the pool of potential talent they represent.

Notwithstanding these significant developments, the overall status of people with disabilities in our society remains dismal. As President Bush said, "People with disabilities are the poorest, least educated, and largest minority in America." Two thirds of Americans with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 64 are not working at all; yet a large majority of those not working say they want to work.


It was in this context that the National Council on Disability, an independent federal agency, issued, in 1986, Toward Independence, a report that examined incentives and disincentives in federal laws towards increasing the independence and full integration of people with disabilities into our society. Among the disincentives to independence it identified were the existence of large remaining gaps in our nation's civil rights coverage for people with disabilities. A principal conclusion of the report was to recommend the adoption of comprehensive civil rights legislation, which became the ADA.

First introduced in the 100th Congress, the ADA bans discrimination in the areas of employment, public accommodation, public services, transportation and telecommunications. President Bush signed the ADA into law on July 26, 1990. Final regulations for Title I, the employment provisions of ADA, were issued on July 26, 1991 by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Department of Justice, on the same day issued final regulations, for Titles II (public services) and III (public accommodations).

The ADA was amended in 2008 to broaden coverage of individuals with disabilities that had been narrowed by several Supreme Court decisions. Its provisions became effective on January 1, 2009.  Language in the preamble was changed to emphasize that Congress intended to cover a broad range of persons with disabilities.


"The Congress finds that-


'(1) physical or mental disabilities in no way diminish a person's right to fully participate in all aspects of society, yet many people with physical or mental disabilities have been precluded from doing so because of discrimination; others who have a record of a disability or are regarded as having a disability also have been subjected to discrimination (� 12101. Findings and purpose)


The ADA Anniversary is a time that we can reflect positively on a law that has made a great impact on the lives of people with disabilities and our country over the past 21 years.  The message within the Preamble and history is powerful because it clearly states the Congressional intent that the law is intended "to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities.


Video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWDaRN490BI


Links:

www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm

www.eeoc.gov/facts/fs-ada.html

www.disabled-world.com/disability/ada/

 

Family Network on Disabilities
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Dunedin, Florida 34698